International Man: Markets are supposed to reflect economic reality. But when central banks suppress interest rates, governments debase currencies, and major powers manipulate oil prices for political purposes, can any market still be considered honest?
Doug Casey: Almost all markets are distorted in some way by government intervention.
Interest rates are the price of money itself. They’re the blood of an economy; when they’re manipulated, it amounts to blood poisoning.
Currencies have become nothing more than floating abstractions. They move up and down by government fiat.
The same is true of every single food item, starting with all the grains, which provide 50% of mankind’s calories, directly or indirectly. Governments subsidize some, put duties on others, regulate how much can be planted, then often store surpluses. This is true of every food—citrus, sugar, coffee, etc., etc. There are no exceptions.
The State distorts metals markets directly with price or import/ export controls as well. But regulations regarding permitting and production are more serious and stretch over decades.
We can’t be sure what prices would be if we lived in a free market economy. Except to say they’d be much lower without the dead hand of the States constantly throwing sand in the gears of commerce.
International Man: Oil is the world’s most important commodity, yet its price c
